We
could go on and on about the musical catharsis provided by
former Beef frontman Stephen Gaylord and his current band,
the Wasted. We could also get into what a blast the CD-release
party for their new album, We Are Already in Hell,
should be (word has it they’re having a killer deal on shots
of Stolichnaya vodka). Instead, we’ve decided to simply weed
out the haters with this sample lyric from their song “Bedwetter”:
“Some folks don’t see the light, they’re here to see the sights,
they’re here to soak it in, they love their fucked up lives/Could
have done better if I wasn’t born a bedwetter, was richer,
better looking, if I got some pussy/You can pound me to pieces,
doesn’t matter long as you’re not hurt, because man is the
most evil creature ever put on the earth.” Amen, brother.
To Hell And Back, Small Axe, and the Dirty Bombs open.
(Sept. 24, 8 PM, $5, 17 New Scotland Ave., Albany, 432-6572)

Blue
Öyster Cult, Seven Stories Falling, ThickNorthern
Lights, Friday

Rock
veterans Blue Öyster Cult are hard to describe. Metal? Rock?
Laser show? Even their name is hard to describe (what the
hell does that mean, anyway?).They’re original,
to say the least. Interestingly, this will be one of the last
shows with drummer Bobby Rondinelli, who has chosen to leave
the Cult to play full-time with the Lizards. They might always
be on tour, but tomorrow (Friday) night will be the night
to see them in the Capital Region when they play Northern
Lights. Don’t fear the reaper, baby. Locals Seven Stories
Falling and Thick will open. (Sept. 24, 7:30 PM, $15, 16+)

As
you may have gathered by now, we generally advise you to check
out the shows presented by Impulse Response; as you likely
also have gathered, we expect you to take it on faith that
it’ll be worth the time—because, god bless their pointy little
heads—the press releases from those cats don’t always give
one a lot to go on. What we do know is that Ben Owen and the
NY Phonographers Ensemble appears to include a handful of
the more interesting electronic and experimental musicians
and artists of this area (Seth Cluett, Stephan Moore, Scott
Smallwood) as well as a number of other performers or groups
who are new to us (Michelle Nagai, Omnid, the Beige Channel),
and they’ll be presenting live mixing of field recordings,
in solo and group performances. And we know that it’ll all
take place in the Gasholder Building, one of our favorite
quasi-creepy Troy landmarks. Other than that we’re keeping
our fingers crossed and our ears open. (Sept. 23, 8 PM,
$5, 1115 Fifth Ave., Troy, 273-0552)

Frank
Bango & The Magic FingersLark
Tavern, Saturday

It’s
time to put on your scuba gear and dive into a sea of emotion.
According to Frank Bango, on his last album he and songwriting
partner Richy Vesecy were—emotionally speaking—“just getting
our feet wet.” The new album The Unstudied Sea is awash
with singer-songwriter emotion, which flows out of Bango’s
’60s-girl-group, pop inspiration. Floating along with Bango
in his sea of emotion will be his back up band, “esoteric
pop adventurers” the Magic Fingers. According to Bango, if
you are aware of any of his influences—which include David
Lynch, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Elvis Costello and Bjork—you
“owe it not only to yourself but to them to know who Frank
is.” If this proves to be true, Lark Tavern may need to invest
in more parking. (Sept. 25, 10 PM, $3, 453 Madison Ave.,
Albany, 463-9779)

The
Decemberists, Lou BarlowPearl
Street, Tuesday

Portland,
Ore.-based collective the Decemberists have been enjoying
quite the positive buzz lately, and it’s a tough one to argue.
In their relatively short lifespan, they’ve released two full-length
albums (last year’s Her Majesty and 2002’s Castaways
and Cutouts), plus the EPs 5 Songs (which features
the positively sublime “Oceanside”) and The Tain, an
18-minute, five-part concept piece based on the Irish myth.
Their music gathers together elements of back-porch folk,
progressive rock, and heavenly (not heavenly like Christian
rock, but rather like “The Ballad of El Goodo” by Big Star)
pop, while their lyrics tend to draw less from matters of
the heart and more from the history books (although we’re
fairly confident that those books are works of fiction). Joining
them on Tuesday night’s show is Folk Implosion/Sebadoh guy
Lou Barlow, who has enjoyed a recent resurgence in popularity,
following a springtime reunion tour with his old Sebadoh bandmate
Jason Loewenstein. (Sept. 28, 8:30 PM, $15, 10 Pearl St.,
Northampton, Mass., 413-584-7771)

Also
Noted

Talib
Kweli
will bring his socially conscious hiphop to Pearl
Street tonight (Thursday); Kweli is touring in
support of his new CD, The Beautiful Struggle,
which hits stores next week (8:30 PM, $23, 413-584-7771).
. . . Hailing from somewhere on the other side
of the spectrum, the David Grisman Quartet
bring their bluegrass-conscious folk and jazz
to the Egg this evening (7:30 PM, $26, 473-1845).
. . . Tomorrow (Friday), legendary songwriter
and producer Nick Lowe plays the Iron Horse
Music Hall in Northampton, Mass.; Geraint Watkins
opens (7 PM, $28, 413-584-0610). . . . And back
at home tomorrow, the Nick Mancini Trio
plays Justin’s; Mancini is a Capital Region-born
vibraphonist and composer who currently resides
in Brooklyn (9 PM, $5, 436-7008). . . . On Saturday,
blue-collar rock & rollers Tesla return
for another go-round at Northern Lights, with
former Buckcherry vocalist Josh Todd opening
(7:30 PM, $27, 371-0012). . . . There’s more of
that there bluegrass coming your way: The Nitty
Gritty Dirt Band will play the Troy Savings
Bank Music Hall on Sunday (7 PM, $25-28, 273-0038).
. . . It’s another big night of hiphop at Pearl
Street on Sunday, featuring Gift of Gab (of
Blackalicious), plus Mike Relm (of Invisibl
Skratch Piklz) and Rhythm Ruckus (8:30
PM, $17, 413-584-7771). . . . On Monday, quirky,
scrappy singer- songwriter Michelle Shocked
will play the Iron Horse; the Resophonics
and Rachel McCartney will also perform
(7 PM, $25, 413-584-0610). . . . Heavy metal mainstays
Anthrax are about to begin a tour with
the one and only Dio, but first, they’ll
play a warm-up show at Northern Lights on Tuesday
night; Last Call and Brick By Brick
will warm up for the warm-up (7:30 PM, $15, 371-0012).